A NORTH Cornwall bed and breakfast owner has leapt to the defence of the local tourist industry during a national on-air discussion about holidays in the UK.

The BBC Radio Four programme You and Yours invited comment on holidays at home versus those abroad. During the discussion, studio expert Bob Atkinson criticised the quality of B&B accommodation in Britain, claiming there were too many "swirly carpet" establishments and too few offering good accommodation at reasonable prices.

Mr Atkinson, from the price comparison website www.travelsupermarket.com went on to claim that there was no national standard for tourist accommodation in Britain and guests were unable to make comparative judgements.

Shelley Barratt, who runs multi-award-winning Orchard Lodge in Boscastle was quick to respond to Mr Atkinson's remarks.

She was invited to take part in the discussion after contacting the programme while it was on air. She told Mr Atkinson and the programme's audience of more than four million, that he was talking "nonsense".

She said: "It's okay for people to criticise the standards of B&B accommodation in Britain, but when so-called experts on a national radio programme so clearly demonstrate they don't know what they're talking about it seems a bit unfair.

"I don't mind Mr Atkinson having an opinion but he ought to know there is a national standard. It's operated by Visit Britain and the AA with the clear intention of providing would-be guests with a simple, easy to understand star system that tells them what they need to know before booking."

Shelley told Mr Atkinson and the programme's presenter, Julian Worricker, that they ought to have been aware of the national standards before making the comments.

"It's just too easy to make generalised comments not backed up by facts," added Shelley, who as well as being a five-star B&B owner is also the holder of a Green Tourism Business Scheme Gold Award and an Ambassador for the Cornwall sustainable tourism project (COaST).

She went on: "When you think how much tourism contributes to the economy of Cornwall, it's very important that we get the message out there that visitors will get good accommodation and value for money if they check out that the place they want to stay in is properly registered. That's the whole point of it."

Shelley, who next week will be addressing a regional seminar organised by Southwest Tourism, says she'll be taking a keen interest in the programme's follow-up item in a few weeks' time.